Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 50.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,410 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at approximately $228,051,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,725,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,048 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $138,630,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.62.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.4%

BRO opened at $62.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.89. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $96.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.50 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.1650 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.82%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an independent insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefits firm headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance placement, risk consulting and related services.

Its offerings include property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety products, risk management services and specialized insurance programs. Brown & Brown also operates wholesale brokerage businesses that provide coverage solutions and access to insurance markets for retail agents and brokers, including products designed for specialty and hard-to-place risks.

Founded in 1939 by J.